Because She Died
by GRINtelligencer
Summary: Shiori’s murder sets off a chain of events that spin more and more out of control as Kurama wreaks revenge, the rest of the team picks up the pieces, and Koenma is forced to make the unconscious kitsune a wanted man! Rewritten and reposted.
1. Chapter 1

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

As said in the summery, this is a rewrite of an older story, in fact the first one I ever wrote. But because the old one lacked both plot and point it's been drastically changed here. The chapters are meant to be brief, the style I was going for was short, sharp shards of scenes. Because of the shortness of the chapters, I plan on updating more frequently than I usually do, on weekends and Wednesdays.

Please drop me a review, I really want to know what you think.

**Prologue**

**--------------------------------------------**

The room was burning, thick smoke filling the air and Hiei was stood, torn. There were two there, Yukina, who coughed too hard to run, the smoke disagreeing with her lungs and Kurama, who was still dead to the world.

Who to help? His sister or his teammate? Neither would get far without help and not even a demon could survive a burning house falling on them. Who to choose? _Who_?

Like almost everything Hiei did, when he choose, he choose fast.

**Part 1**

**--------------------------------------------**

"Well, shit," Yusuke said flatly. "that sucks."

"That's an understatement," said Kuwabara, picking up a few papers from the mess and dropping them again with frustration. "This really, really, _really_ sucks."

"I mean, of all the crappy things that could have happened, _why_ this?" Yusuke kick a piece of debris. "If we hadn't been on a mission, maybe he would have been here, and then, who knows? Maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Like maybe is going to help anything, Urameshi. There's nothing we can do."

"You're right. Probably as soon as he saw this, there'd be nothing we could have done to stop him."

A blur resolved itself into Hiei. "I lost him."

"What?" Yusuke groaned. "How hard can Kurama be to follow?"

Hiei narrowed his eyes. "Hard. He was a thief after all; he knows how to lose a track."

"Was there any sign he was tracking the ones who did this?"

"No sign, but he most likely is."

Yusuke covered his eyes briefly, then looked at the wrecked room again as if he hoped if it had disappeared while he wasn't looking.

It hadn't.

The body of Shiori Minamino was still on the floor, a shocked expression forever frozen on her face.

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

Looking back on the first chapter, I realized that I didn't make it too clear that the prologue takes place much farther along in the timeline than the first chapter itself. Sorry about that.

Thank you to you reviewers, I appreciate the feedback so much! Read and enjoy.

**Part 2**

**--------------------------------------------**

One visit from Botan later, they had a location and had left her in the dust. She didn't blame then, considering the circumstances.

**--------------------------------------------**

"Why does it always have to look so normal?" muttered Kuwabara, as they craned their heads back to look at the office building. From outside, it looked innocently mundane. Barring the broken window.

The broken window was what Hiei had his eyes fixed on. (Or the two normal eyes at least).

"We're going inside," said Yusuke. "Meet us there if you don't find anything out here." When Hiei had that look, he'd do whatever he felt like, so Yusuke didn't even bother to order him.

Hiei grunted in response as Kuwabara tested the office-building door to see if it was unlocked. Finding that it was he entered.

Following him, Yusuke found himself in a tastefully decorated foyer. "Murdering people's mothers appears to pay well these days," He grumbled.

"Not really, Urameshi," Kuwabara had opened one of the doors off the foyer and was peering beyond it. "It's all unfinished past this point."

"Any staircases? That broken window was on the third floor."

The stairs were quickly found and they wasted no time going up them. It was all bare cement and un-dry walled, the foyer was clearly a front.

With no doors on, it was easy to see the room that the gang that had killed Shiori Minamino adopted as their own. The fact that there was the corpse of a demon in front of it helped too.

Inside the room was…carnage. Bodies in pieces, blood, entrails, bits of plants that were scattered around the room. Carefully they picked their way through, bit-by-bit, turning over corpses one by one. Each was a demon. Each was dead. Kurama had apparently made very sure of it.

In fact, according to Botan, this gang was the same one they'd hit on that last mission, one that had been trying to establish itself in the human world. They'd killed the main ringleaders, but obviously there had been survivors.

Those survivors had managed to track at least one of the Spirit Detectives down.

"Crap," spat Yusuke emphatically, as he found one body hidden under another. "This one's a human."

"Are you sure?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah. Damn, that's not good." Demons that killed humans were severely punished by the Spirit World, as Yusuke had learned in the disaster with Hiei's sister. Then he felt a faint pulse under his fingers on the human's neck. "Wait, he's alive! Lost a lot of blood, yeah, but alive for now. Good." He walked to the shattered window to look down, thinking to find Hiei. He spotted him almost directly below, almost out of sight of the edge of the window and called down to him. "Hey, anything down there?"

Stepping back, Hiei glared upward at him. "I found Kurama."

"What?" Yusuke leaned out of the broken window peering at the ground.

"He either fell, or jumped from the window. Is there blood on the glass?"

At Hiei's prompting Yusuke inspected the few shards of glass that still were in the window and immediately spotted the red on its edges. "Check on the blood, and a lot of it."

"If Kurama jumped out that window he'd have done it without cutting himself." pointed out Kuwabara. "He's a thief, he'd know how to do it without hurt. I bet he got pushed."

"This just keeps getting better and better," growled Yusuke. "Kuwabara, if that human guy dies, we're gonna be in a lot of trouble. Could you see if you can get him to a hospital? Normally I'd say bring them to him, but there's dead demons all over, which is sort of suspicious. I'm going down to see how Kurama is."

"Over and out." Kuwabara saluted then sobered. "This is bad, Urameshi."

"I know, but that seems to be today's theme."

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

In the original story, Kurama fell from the top of a hospital, after the railing he was leaning on broke, and ended up on pretty bad shape. Later a realized that a fall like that probably wouldn't do much to a demon, unless there were some extenuating circumstances. You could say this is the recantation of that scene.

Reviewers, thank you so much, I love to hear what you have to say!

**Part 3**

**--------------------------------------------**

Yusuke looked down at the kitsune at his feet. He was sliced up something good from the window-glass and there might be some internal injuries, but as far as he could tell, Kurama would live.

"Even a three story fall doesn't do much for a demon." Yusuke commented, he knelt, careful of the glass, to brush away some of the loose shards that had fallen on the kitsune's face.

"He's already healing," explained Hiei, prodding at a cut. "Which is why he's unconscious. These aren't fatal wounds."

"How long will he be out?"

"A few hours, a few days. I have no idea."

Rising to his feet Yusuke dusted off his knees. "Come on Hiei, I need something a little more accurate than that."

Glowering at him, Hiei snapped. "How would I know? Each demon heals at their own rate. Slow, fast, instantaneously, it varies."

"Fine, fine. But get him out of here, okay? We need to speed up the whole waking up process. Maybe Yukina or Botan can help. Because if Kurama didn't actually hurt that human inside, we need to know now, so Koenma won't try to arrest him. I want to see how Kuwabara's managing at the hospital. Can you manage with Kurama? Get him somewhere safe and get a healer to him?"

Any other day, Hiei probably would have disappeared in a black blur and a annoyed 'huh', leaving Yusuke to deal with it, but under these circumstances Hiei simply nodded.

"Thanks," was all Yusuke spared time for before he jogged off in search of Kuwabara.

**--------------------------------------------**

Hiei wasn't familiar with Human World and there were few places he knew how to find easily. He finally gave up and dragged Kurama to the first place he could think of.

The kitsune's own home.

The downstairs was a wreck, trashed by the gang and still containing Shiori's body, but Hiei put Kurama upstairs, in his room, being careful to close the door behind him. If Kurama woke to the smell of blood, who knew what he'd do?

Settling down on a chair, Hiei watched Kurama.

The appropriate call had been made to the temple and Yukina was already on the way. There was nothing else he could do. Kurama was already healing, even though he wouldn't wake and probably couldn't for a while.

Healing coma, or actual coma?

He didn't know enough about the way human bodies worked to tell.

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

I apologize for missing my Wednesday update, but my home computer went belly-up under a nasty virus and I have yet to get it back from the computer doctor. This update is being done on a borrowed computer because I didn't want to miss another update! Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

**Part 4**

**--------------------------------------------**

Yusuke was finding himself in an extremely strange situation. He was assaulted by the smells of hospital, antiseptic, cleaner, and the faintest trace of sickness. The figure on the bed was covered with so many tubes and pipes it was hard to make out the human underneath. And next to him, Kuwabara was fidgeting, with Botan in the chair beside him, though she was still. "We don't even know his name," she said, sadly. "this is so _insane_."

"It's not like he'll never wake up." Kuwabara quickly said. "We'll ask the guy his name as soon as he regains consciousness." Of course, he didn't mention the fact that, according to the doctor, there was a good chance that wouldn't happen.

And Yusuke was still caught up in listening to the beeping monitors, the hypnotic sounds getting farther and father apart.

"Now explain to me again why you aren't just healing him?" Kuwabara asked Botan, for the hundredth time.

"Injuries too severe," she said at one. "And I was a ferry girl, my energy is interfused with death. Flooding a _human_ with that much energy would kill him anyway. And speaking of healing, Yusuke, if I'm here, who's healing Kurama?"

She had to ask again before Yusuke heard her. "What? Oh, Yukina I guess. Hiei took Kurama somewhere or other, he knows enough to get a healer."

"Good," said Botan vaguely. "that's… that's good."

"Guys!" Kuwabara leaned forward anxiously. "This doesn't look good." He was watching the equipment that surrounded the man, which was beeping in a worrying way.

A nurse glanced in, she must have heard the noise, then her eyes went wide and she ducked out. Seconds later, the room was flooded with doctors and nurses, all busily working away at the equipment and unknown man. Soon the three of them were gently, but firmly thrown out.

Botan reached out and grabbed the hand of the boy on each side of her. They took one look at her face and didn't complain.

Only five minutes later, the doctors streamed out of the room again.

A nurse stopped in front of them and shook her head.

A human was dead, and Kurama had killed him.

He was now wanted for murder by Spirit World.

It was probably a good thing that Yusuke had no idea where he was.

**--------------------------------------------**

TBC 


	5. Chapter 5

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

Previous updates missed due to no internet connection, but I've got my computer back with a clean bill of health from the computer hospital at last! Hopefully this means back to the normal update schedule.

To the person who asked, the one who fell out the window was Kurama, the human is the one who died, he was in the room. Sorry about the confusion.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it.

**Part 5**

**--------------------------------------------**

It had been a hard healing for Yukina; she had had to use a lot of energy to heal Kurama. Now she slept, curled peacefully at the foot of the bed that Hiei had laid Kurama on.

Hiei wasn't quite sure what to do now. He wasn't good at emotional things like this. What did a person say to a teammate when their mother was killed?

Maybe it was better that Kurama still slept.

**--------------------------------------------**

Botan dropped the boy's hands suddenly, as if an idea had stuck her, and ran for the roof, summoning her oar as she went. Her clothes flickered, changed, and became once more the pink kimono.

She burst out onto the roof and almost ran right through the spirit. The human that had just died yelped, falling backward. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I? And why do you have an oar in your hand?"

"Never mind that," Botan said sharply. "How did you die?" usually she tried to be gentler with the newly dead, but there wasn't time right now.

"What?" the ghost looked at her with confusion. "You're making some sort of mistake, I'm not dead!"

She pointed down. "If you aren't dead, explain _that_." The ghost was floating several inches off the roof, as spirits were wont to do when they didn't pay attention.

"Oh…" the man looked thoughtful for a moment. "I must be dead, then. How come you can see me?"

"There's no time to explain right now. I need to know how you died."

"I was walking home… after work… and these things ran past me…" the ghost said haltingly, frowning, as if he was running it through in his head as he spoke. "And they couldn't be human… because they had claws and spines and stuff like that… one said something and then they all turned and grabbed me. The next thing I remember I was in this room, the things that took me, they were… happy, like cheering and drinking and dancing." The man frowned even deeper. "I think… I think were going to eat me. They kept looking at me and licking their lips and saying things..." the spirit shuddered.

"Demons do that sort of thing," said Botan. "Abduct passersby, especially if they were in the mood for celebration." Celebration for getting revenge on one of the team that took out the rest of their gang, she didn't add.

"But then, something went wrong, some of the things started falling over, and some were screaming and there was red everywhere! This guy showed up, out of nowhere, and he was taking the things _out_. One of them grabbed me, he had these claws, and it…" Yusuke and Kuwabara burst out onto the roof, having caught up, but Botan gestured for them to be quiet. The man's ghost, who she realized for the first time, was young, looked at her with despair in his eyes. "It killed me."

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

Updating on time, surprise! This is the chapter were things make a particularly nasty turn, if it's possible to make the situation more a mess than it already is. But here's where two lines of communication utterly fail to meet. Oopes.

This story takes place right _before_ the Dark Tournament, which would account for the disorganization and lack of power in our favorite team of Spirit Detectives.

Thank to reviewers and please drop one for this chapter!

**Part 6**

**--------------------------------------------**

"You're sure?" Yusuke demanded of the ghost. "The demon killed you?"

The man nodded.

"Did you see a guy with red hair?" asked Kuwabara. "You're sure it wasn't him?"

"The guy who was killing the… demons had red hair, yeah. But it wasn't him."

Both Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan sighed with much relief.

"So it wasn't Kurama," Yusuke said. "What now?"

Botan sat on her oar. "I'll take him to Spirit World, they can deal with him there. Hopefully while I'm there, I can fill Lord Koenma in on the latest development."

"And Kurama?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. He might get off. I don't know how it works in situations like this, but Lord Koenma probably does." And, after gathering up the spirit of the man, Botan took off.

Kuwabara looked at Yusuke. "So what do we do now?"

**--------------------------------------------**

Even though he had grown up around it in the Makai, Hiei was still not particularly fond of the smell of blood. In the past it had rarely been a smell that heralded anything pleasant. And the kitsune's home stank of it.

He had opened the window, but there was no relief from that sickeningly coppery smell. Finally, with one last glance back at the two sleepers to check that neither had woken, Hiei slipped out of the window and into the night.

**--------------------------------------------**

Both Yusuke and Kuwabara had left the hospital, dodging doctors and the inconvenient questions they were sure to have, on their way out. But they were drawn, like a magnet draws a piece of metal, back to Kurama's house and the wreckage that lay inside.

In fact when Botan rejoined them, only an hour or so later, she found them both sitting in the living room, resolutely not looking at the door to the kitchen. Where Shiori's body was.

"What did Koenma say?" Yusuke asked at once.

"Kurama's in the clear. He did kill the demons, but since they were the remnants of the gang he ordered you to go after in the first place, it all works out." Botan glanced toward the kitchen and sighed. "I'm supposed to take Shiori to the afterlife now."

She started toward the kitchen but paused when Kuwabara asked: "So what did he say to do with… you know, the body? And we can't just leave the place like this."

"Lord Koenma doesn't want any evidence of demon action to remain," Botan bit her lip, but then went on. "He said that after I take her spirit, you two should burn the house."

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

This is a really short chapter, sorry about that. Drop me a review, I really appreciate it.

**Part 7**

**--------------------------------------------**

Hiei knew fire. It was his power and he had seen it in it's many forms often over the years and was very familiar with its ways. And it's scent.

He sniffed the air. Either a human was having a very large bonfire, or else something was on fire. From his position on the top of a telephone pole he looked out for the city, seeking the sight of the telltale smoke plume. Not because he was worried about some human's home, but because a gut feeling told him that something was wrong.

And Hiei had survived the age that he currently was by listening to gut feelings.

When he saw the smoke cloud, and in the next instant realized what was in _that_ direction he swore and blurred out of view so quickly that he seemed to leave the words behind him.

**--------------------------------------------**

It had not been a hard fire to set.

Both boys carried lighters, for the same indiscernible reason that any teenaged boy felt the need to carry around such things, and Kuwabara had found a can of gasoline in the garage. As he spread it around the kitchen, the room it was most important that as much as burned as possible, Yusuke closed Shiori's eyes.

"Are you sure we should do this?" Kuwabara had asked Yusuke, as they stood at the corner of the room. "It's Kurama's _mom_, you know? And… I've got a bad feeling about this. Like we're about to do something really dumb."

"We don't know if Kurama's probably still out of it and we can't let somebody stumble across his mom's body while we wait for him to wake up. Or while we look for wherever Hiei stashed him." Yusuke flicked the lid of his lighter on and tossed it back into the kitchen.

They didn't stick around inside to watch the flames, instead heading outside to the backyard, where they could both supervise the blaze but were unlikely to get spotted. Seating themselves a safe distance from the house, the two watched the flames begin to leak from the downstairs windows.

Faintly, still very far off, were sirens. Someone had seen the fire. Not their problem, so long as they didn't get fingered for the arson, unlikely since most of the evidence of it was inside, being burned to ashes at this very moment.

And it wasn't until Hiei materialized practically out of thin air, with an absolutely furious look on his face that they even knew that anything was really wrong.

Anything _new_ that was.

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

Sucky miscommunication, eh? Then again, Yusuke and Kuwabara probably thought that Hiei took Kurama to Genkai's or somewhere other than his house. Whoops.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed and I'm looking foreword to hearing what you think of this chapter.

**Part 8**

**--------------------------------------------**

"What the _hell_ is that?" Hiei demanded, an indignant finger pointing at the flames leaking from the windows of the house. _Kurama's_ house.

"Koenma said to burn it," Yusuke told him.

"Get rid of the evidence," Kuwabara added.

Yusuke looked from Hiei's furious expression to the fire, then he got it. "You're not saying that— hey! You can't go back in there! The whole place is about to go up!"

But Hiei wasn't listening, he had dashed inside with no attention to the flames in the doorway.

"Shorty's lost his mind!" Kuwabara shook his head. "What does he think he's doing?"

However Yusuke had an inkling, it had hit him in one cold moment when he saw Hiei's face. "I think… oh no." he looked up at the second story.

Kuwabara followed his gaze and got it too. "Don't tell me _that's_ where the midget brought Kurama?!" And without knowing it, they'd almost burned him to a crisp. "Damnit!"

But there was nothing they could do, they didn't have any immunity to the heat and flames, like Hiei. They couldn't get in.

**--------------------------------------------**

The room was burning, thick smoke filling the air and Hiei was stood, torn. Yukina, was coughing too hard to run, the smoke was disagreeing with her lungs and Kurama, was still dead to the world.

Who to help first? His sister or his teammate? Neither would get far without help and not even a demon could survive a piece of burning debris falling on them. He might not get a chance to go back in and get the one he left behind.

So who should he take? _Who_?

Like almost everything Hiei did, when he choose, he choose fast.

He grabbed Yukina; grabbed his sister, and ran.

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

On looking back at the last few chapters, I have to agree with the reviewer who pointed out that their shortness makes to story difficult to keep up with chapter to chapter. Sorry about that folks. In writing this story I was trying to see if I could tell a story in tiny chapters, a piece at a time. Which must be pretty damn annoying.

Hang in there! Only three more chapters. And please drop a review on your way out and thanks to everyone who reviewed that last chapter, opinions are always welcomed.

**Part 9**

**--------------------------------------------**

Yusuke ran forward to meet Hiei as he burst out of the burning house. He was shocked to see that Hiei wasn't carrying Kurama, but Yukina, who he hadn't even known was in the house.

As soon as Kuwabara saw that it was Yukina he was quick to take her from Hiei, who, in light of the circumstances, surrendered his sister to him without comment. Though he did give him a warning glare.

"What about Kurama?" Yusuke demanded.

In answer, Hiei turned on his heel, to renter the house.

Yusuke grabbed him by the arm. "You can't go back in there! The whole ground floor is on fire, you'll never be able to get out again! You might be a bit fire resistant but Kurama sure as hell isn't!"

But Hiei shook him off, ignoring him and was back inside before Yusuke could make another snatch for him.

"He's gonna get himself killed," Kuwabara said, from where he was tending to the coughing Yukina. "There's no way to get out of that place without frying him and Kurama both. You okay?" he asked Yukina, who was sitting, with him kneeling by her.

She nodded, still trying to clear the smoke from her lungs. "…yes… I just breathed… in a lot of—"

And then the rest of what Yukina said was made inaudible by the collapse of part of the upper story of Kurama's house.

"… that was where the bedroom was." Yusuke said quietly. "And if Hiei put Kurama anywhere, it would've been there."

They were frozen in silence for a long moment, staring at the flames, but then Yukina pressed her hands to her face and tears fell from her eyes, to crystallize before they hit the ground. "He left Kurama inside?" she asked hesitantly. "When he saved me… he…"

"Don't." Yusuke said, cutting her off. The last thing they needed was Yukina blaming herself for Hiei's action.

If they had been under that part of the roof that had fallen in, there was no doubt that Hiei and Kurama were dead, especially given the fact the Kurama wasn't even conscious. Or if they weren't dead they were at the least seriously injured somewhere in there.

And if that was the case… Yusuke ground his teeth in frustration. There wasn't a damn thing they could do to help them; the two demons were in the middle of an inferno!

How the _hell_ had things gotten this out of control?

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

Sorry about the forever-long wait, I was waiting on getting the last manuscripts back from my editor, who's really, really busy. This is the second to last chapter.

Since it's been a long time, here's a quick refresh:

Hiei just ran back into Kurama's burning house to get the still unconscious Kurama out.

**Part 10**

**--------------------------------------------**

Hiei had dragged Kurama out into the hallway when the roof fell in, so they were not immediately crushed by the burning rubble. He threw up an arm to protect his face from flying sparks and had to will out the flames on his cloak. It was more of a liability right now than anything else, so he shed it hastily and made then sure Kurama wasn't hurt.

He was still pale, still unconscious, and now somewhat sooty, but not overtly on fire, which was the best he could do right now.

There was a problem though; Hiei had planned to exit by the bedroom window, throwing Kurama out if he had to, but now that wasn't possible. And the part of the hall he was confined to only had the stairs, which he couldn't use, because they were on fire for the most part, and he could set both Kurama and him aflame if he tried it. Cutting or forcing his way through a wall was possible, but too time consuming, considering that at any moment the roof could fall on him.

He was still wracking his brain on how to get out alive when a light shining at the top of the stairs caught his eye. There was someone standing there, glowing. They pointed downward and as Hiei watched the flames bent away from the stairs in a clear path.

Considering the situation, Hiei wasn't about to stand around and ask questions, he hefted the unconscious Kurama and was down the stairs in less than an eye-blink. To his surprise the clear pathway kept going downstairs, all the way to the door. There was glowing light around the edges of the path, someone, some unseen force, was clearly holding the fire back.

Who, exactly, wasn't the problem at the moment. Staying alive was more important.

Hiei burst out of the door, into the clear air, which was strangely cool after the inferno inside. He pulled Kurama away from the fire, briefly relieved to see the kitsune was unhurt by the adventure.

A stroke of luck. For once.

**--------------------------------------------**

"Thank you," said Shiori to Botan. "For giving me the chance to help my son."

Botan shrugged. "It really doesn't matter exactly when you come to Spirit World. Lord Koenma didn't say we had to hurry."

Looking back down at the flaming house, Shiori released the fire to do as it wanted. Mothers had power all their own and even if things were slightly more complicated than usual, she loved her son. Regardless of what he was. "I'm ready to go now," she said to the ferry girl.

**--------------------------------------------**

Both Yusuke and Kuwabara ran forward to help Hiei get Kurama a safe distance, and once they gathered the recovered Yukina, the group left the house to burn.

Which it did.

To the ground.

**--------------------------------------------**

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Because She Died**

Dane Soar

Here we are, final chapter and the end of the road. Sort of. I do have other stuff, if you like what you saw here, take a look at my other fics (see me, see me shamelessly promote).

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me this long, this story turned out to be more than just a rewrite and awesome encouragement and great reviewers made it that way! So, before I get too sentimental, here it is:

**Part 11- Last Part**

**--------------------------------------------**

It was two days later, and Kurama was awake.

As a demon, he probably could have recovered sooner, but Kurama had not made much of an effort, thinking that when he woke, reality would not be pleasant.

Hiei was sitting on the windowsill of the unfamiliar room, very carefully sharpening his sword, his attention fixed on that and only that.

The room was not his own, not Kuwabara's, not Yusuke's, and most definitely not a jail cell. That surprised Kurama a bit. He was sure there would be a jail cell. "My mother is dead?" he asked, already knowing that answer.

Hiei glanced up, then down again. "Yes," was his short reply.

Sitting up, Kurama winced at the stiffness that his sleep had left behind. "And Koenma? Is there a charge for my actions?"

Again Hiei glanced up at him. "No charge. No crime." He sheathed his sword and walked out.

A moment later there was some conversation in the other room and Yusuke burst in. He found Kurama at the window, looking out. "Where am I?" the kitsune asked, without turning.

"Hotel room." Yusuke said. "Kuwabara and I clubbed together to get it, we figured it was best idea since your house sort of got burned down."

"… burned down. I see. Maybe that's for the best." Kurama still was looking out the window so Yusuke couldn't see his expression, but when he spoke again his voice was lighter. "I hear from Hiei that Koenma isn't pressing charges. I must admit to being surprised. Before I fell through the window… I thought I remembered seeing a dead human."

"Wasn't you that did it." Yusuke assured him. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So the toddler says that there's nothing to charge you for because technically you didn't do anything wrong. Sorry about your house."

"How did it burn down?"

"A long story. But the cops think your mother died in the fire. And since no one's seen you since, it's assumed that you did too. What are you going to do now?" Yusuke came to stand next to Kurama at the window.

The kitsune sighed, a long, tired sigh. "With Mother… gone, and my human identity done away with, I really have nothing left for me in this world."

"You aren't going to go all suicidal on us, now?"

"I meant nothing left in the _human_ world, Yusuke. Not the mortal one. I think I'll go back to Makai," a faint smile touched Kurama's mouth. "I'm fairly sure that I can find a way back. Surely there are a few treasures I didn't manage to steal while I was my former self. And I have some of my old power back, I think I could manage."

"So that's it? Just like that your mom being gone doesn't mean anything?"

Kurama glared at him; for the first time Yusuke saw that there was grief in his face, though someone had to know the kitsune very well to see it. The mask was slipping, there were shadows in his eyes and the muscles in his jaw were tense, as if holding something back very hard.

He spoke slowly, as if choosing each word with minute care. "I have had many people I care for die. Many times it was my fault. Over the years I have learned that sometimes the best thing to do is to leave. I miss her. And I mourn my mother's loss more…" with a sharp movement he turned head turned away at such an angle that Yusuke still couldn't see his expression anymore. "More than you can imagine. But I can't stay here. I can't play at being human any longer. This world is not my home."

Yusuke frowned. "But what about us? The team? What if we need you?"

"If you need me, I'll be there. But right now, I need some time to myself. So until then…" He twisted open the window lock and shoved it up. "Well, should the worst happen, I'll make sure you know where to find me." And, before Yusuke could do anything, Kurama had vaulted out of the fifth story building. Yusuke leaned out of the window, looking downward.

It was no use, Kurama was gone, no blurring, no puff of smoke, just gone into the night.

He would have run downstairs and tried to pursue the kitsune on foot, but Hiei was in the doorway. "Let him go." he said. "We'll never catch him."

"But he said he was going to the Makai! We need him!"

Hiei shrugged. "You heard him, he'll be there if we really do. For now, leave him alone."

**--------------------------------------------**

When Yusuke came swearing back into the other room, Kuwabara shook his head. "Kurama's gone?"

"How'd you guess?"

Kuwabara tapped the side of his head. "I am the one with the freakishly strong sixth sense." Seeing Yusuke's troubled look he sobered. "Don't worry Urameshi. Next time the world's in danger, he'll be back. You know Kurama; he may be smart, but even he needs time to straighten his head out. He'll be back."

"He'd better," Yusuke said. "Because if it's just you, me, and the midget, the world is fucked."

"Hear, hear, Urameshi."

--------------------------------------------

**Last Part- End**


End file.
